Chapter 65

Kelsey “Princess Kelsey, please, I am unable to give your mate the best possible care I can with you hovering over him.” Emmett said for the third time. “We need to get him prepped for surgery, please go with Jonas and wait in the lobby.”

“I-I-“

“Come on, Kelse,” Jonas said, gently taking my hand and pulling me in the opposite direction of my mate.

I reluctantly let go of my mate’s hand and let Jonas take me back to the waiting area. I was absolutely besides myself. What if he didn’t make it? What was I going to do? What would I tell my girls?

“Everything will work out, the moon goddess knows what she is doing.” Jonas said as he coaxed me to sit in one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.

It was bad enough that I lost both parents in the same week. My girls struggled to understand it with my mom, their grandmother, but once they saw their grandfather being dragged back into the palace, followed by a small army of chupacabras fighting our men, they seemed to grasp the concept of death very quickly. All they knew so far was that their dad was somewhere else. I didn’t tell them how I knew something was wrong, I didn’t tell them I hadn’t heard from him in days, or that our bond felt strained. They had no idea what could be coming their way. With both grandparents, they knew they were sick or weak and I had some time to prepare them for the inevitable. But with their own father? Goddess, please don’t make me look them in the eyes and tell them the news. Please spare my mate.

“You should eat something.” Jonas said, handing me a bag of chips, a package of cookies, and a bottle of water.

“Thanks.” I said, taking the food, but having no intention of eating it.

“Mason is a strong warrior, and Emmett is a great doctor,” Jonas said, taking the seat next to me.

I nodded, my eyes glued to the floor. I know he was trying to be helpful, and I appreciated it, but I was in a dark place right now.

“Your girls are very smart,” Jonas said, surprising me. “Funny too.”

“They get that from Mason.” I laughed to myself. “I think the only thing I gave them was my looks and attitude.”

“Ha!” Jonas chuckled.

An awkward silence fell between us while the clock on the wall clicked away. How many hours would I have to listen to that thing? As if reading my mind, or maybe seeing my disgusted look aimed at the wall, Jonas got up and took the clock off the wall and yanked the batteries out of it.

“Thanks.” I choked out, fighting the next wave of grief that was falling over me.

“Everything will work out.” He said again, a sad, pitying look crossing his face.

“Maybe the moon goddess just hates our family.” I said, just as Kelly and her trainer Thoin came into the hospital.

Kelly didn’t notice me or Jonas as she made her way to the front desk where there was one staff member who looked in over her head.

“Any good news?” Kelly asked.

“Queen Kelly!” She said, a bit flustered. “Oh, um…yes, kind of. Since you cleared the pack of the chupacabras, we were able to clear out the hospital of any unnecessary bodies and better treat our critical patients.”

“Great.” She nodded. “I would like to see my mother. I assume she is here somewhere.”

“Oh, um..”

“I’ll take her.” I said, standing up. I knew exactly where they had her. “Link me if there is any news.” I said to Jonas before going over to Kelly and giving her a hug.

“Of course.” The flustered staff said, randomly grabbing the nearest keycard that probably wasn’t even hers and handing it to me.

“I wont be long.” Kelly said to Thorin, who simply grunted in response.

We walked in silence down to the basement where they kept the deceased. It was cold and clinical feeling, only adding to the despair I had inside me.

“Which one?” Kelly asked as we entered the morgue.

“Third from the left, middle row.” I said softly.

Kelly didn’t hesitate to open the locker our mother was in and pulled back the sheet, revealing her lifeless face. She whispered something to her before kissing her forehead and pulling the sheet back and pushing her back into the small hole in the wall.

“How is Mason?” She asked as she left the morgue just as soon as we had come.

I almost had to run to keep in step with her. She only slowed down slightly when she saw me struggling. “He is in surgery.”

“That’s a good thing then,” she said approvingly.

“I suppose,” I sighed. It meant he was still alive anyway.

“Stay strong for your mate, you can feel what he is feeling, which also means he can feel what you are feeling.”

“Thanks Kelly, you always know what to say,” I said, already starting to cry again.

Kelly stopped walking, pulling me in for a tight hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

“I’m just thankful you’re here now.” I sobbed. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I am. And I’m not going anywhere.” She said, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away my tears. “Remember, happy thoughts, for Mason.” She smiled softly.

“I will.” I nodded, fanning my eyes.

“I have to go now, I have a lot to check on, but I will have Jonas stick with you. I was told Kylie left here a little while ago, I’ll have her and Joceyln take the girls home.”

“Thanks Kelly.”

– – – – – – – – –

Kelly “Alright, everyone listen up!” I said with a booming voice just outside the palace where I had most, if not all, of our warriors gathered. The uninjured ones anyway. “First things first, we need to see that any and all house fires are put out. We need to collect the fallen so we can have a mass funeral in the next day or two. Any chupacabras can be burned, but I would like to limit the number of piles we have on the pack grounds to no more than five. No one wants to see those beasts any more than they have to. Thorin will break you up into groups of five to start the cleanup, minus you two.” I said, looking at the former Beta and Delta, the only survivors of my father’s chosen leaders.

“Yes, Queen Kelly,” Magnus, our former Beta said, speaking for himself and the former Delta, Saul.

“I would like to speak with you two right now.” I said, gesturing them to follow me to my makeshift office I had setup while the palace was still being deflamed. There was a desk and a handful of chairs along with a large stack of semi-crispy papers. All of which seemed quite important in some way or another. “Help me make sense of all of this?” I asked.

Magnus and Saul seemed relieved at my request. On some level, they probably blamed themselves. It was their job to protect the king after all. Lucky for them, I knew nothing could have stopped what happened. Except maybe if I had been here. They were very patient with me, explaining what all the papers were, some were treaties with our allies, others were financial reports, and others were simply our warriors’ requests for time off. It was a lot to take in, but thankfully I was trained my whole life for this.

All the books my father had me read made getting caught up in all of this information quite easy. They were so incredibly boring, but they did the trick, making my job much easier. And that is exactly what I need with these papers right now; ease. Because it would seem that everything else was anything but. We didn’t have enough room at all of our funeral homes combined to properly prepare all the bodies, which is what every family would want. We werewolves typically liked a traditional burial, so I had a feeling most wouldn’t be comfortable with cremation, but hopefully a mass burial with the king and queen would do the trick. It was the only other thing that made sense. It was both respectful and within our means at the moment. Plus, some of these bodies have been out for days now. They were beginning to smell and animals and insects were taking notice. We needed to have a funeral and fast.

“Would it be too much to ask that you both retain your positions until I am ready to choose someone else?” I asked mid conversation.

Traditionally, once a new monarchy is appointed, they choose their own beta, gamma, and delta. It ensured a fresh start every few decades.

“Of course your majesty!”

“It would be our honor!”

They both nodded, excitement and relief washing over them again. Fantastic. One more thing off my never ending list.